Liver Disease Overview

Impact of Liver and Gallbladder Disease on the American Population

• Liver disease is the tenth most common type of medical illness among American adults today.

• Twenty-five (25) million Americans have been affected with some type of liver, bile duct, or gallbladder disease during their lives.

• Approximately 26,000 Americans die each year from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.

• According to data published in 1993, liver and gallbladder diseases account for approximately 51,000 deaths in the United States and was the seventh leading cause of death.

• Approximately 4 million in the United States are infected with the hepatitis C virus which is now becoming an increasingly important public health problem and has now become the #1 cause for liver transplantation in the United States.

• Approximately 12,000 people die of hepatitis C every year and it is estimated that these rates will continue to rise over the next few years because of the chronic nature of the hepatitis C infection.

• Hepatitis B is responsible for approximately 5,000 deaths in the United States each year, from both acute hepatitis, chronic cirrhosis and liver cancer.

• The total medical care costs for liver disease in 1994 was approximately 9 billion dollars.

• Approximately 4,400 liver transplants were performed in 1998 because of various types of chronic liver disease. Liver transplant waiting lists currently have approximately 14,000 patients waiting for transplantation.

• Approximately 600,000 patients underwent gallbladder surgery in 1992 because of gallstone disease.